Just a few more moments
by DieAstra
Summary: Some Ed/Kelly scenes from the episode 2x14 "The road not taken", seen through Ed's eyes.


**Just a few more moments**

„Next time you tell someone not to shoot you should do it first and not just keep walking in ominous silence. I could have seriously hurt you!"

"Sorry. I'll try to remember. Although I don't plan to make a habit out of it."

And she smiled. Gosh, Kelly's smile was beautiful. Ed allowed himself to get lost in it for a moment. He still couldn't believe how much his life had changed during the past few days.

It all started with the shuttle he and Gordon had been fleeing in being tractor beamed by this scavenger ship that turned out having a woman from Ed's past on board. His past of seven years ago to be precise. Kelly, who had never answered any of his calls after their first date and who now told him this incredible story of alternate time lines and that he actually was supposed to be captain of a starship. The "Orville". Ed did not have any reason to not believe her, but it was a hell of a lot to take in.

But he wasn't given much time to process everything properly, with them visiting that underground base for a needed protein and then having to flee from the Kaylons again. Now they were on their way to Earth to find the sunken ship and he finally had a chance to breathe a bit. He decided to use the time properly and have another date with Kelly.

His blood still ran cold when he thought back to the moment he first saw her again after all this time. She came out of the dark, her face hidden until the very last moment. Ed was grateful for his thorough weapon training that had made him hold off on pulling the trigger. Having the surprise on his side could have made a difference between life and death but still he waited until the very last moment. Thankfully Gordon at his side was not trigger-happy either and followed his lead. Even though he technically wasn't his subordinate anymore. That had been a long time ago. They were equal partners in their battle for survival in this strange new world after the war with the Kaylon.

After Kelly had explained what she planned to do to set things right and everyone had left the briefing room except for her and him, Ed couldn't hold back his anger anymore. He allowed for his pain and emotions to show through when he told her, "… when you basically ghosted me, I thought it was the end of the world. Turns out, I was right."

Bam. He could see how much his words were hurting her, but at the time he didn't care. But Ed wasn't the kind of guy that stayed angry for long, and after he had mulled it over properly he was able to put himself into Kelly's shoes, seeing her side of the story. Apparently his other self hadn't exactly been a saint either. It always took two to destroy a relationship.

So Ed decided to start anew. Hence this date. Catching up with Kelly, having small talk, getting to know each other properly. Already he could feel the old familiarity being back. As if the past seven years had been erased. She was witty, she was tough and she was beautiful. One hell of a combination.

And she was right here, looking at him expectantly. Apparently he had been silent for too long. He cleared his throat.

"You realize, if we succeed…"

"None of this will ever have happened."

And apparently she could read minds too. What a woman.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

John said it would take him years to fill the holes in Isaac's calculations for the Aronov device. For a second Ed was very tempted to let him do just that. Their fault, they made him captain even though he protested.

And so he needed to act like a captain. It was his idea to get into Isaac's brain. Fully knowing that all Kaylon brains were connected and that it would likely raise their attention once they started fumbling around in the data. But it was their best shot.

Now all they had to do was waiting until John was ready. Ed didn't want to be the kind of commanding officer that hovered over John's shoulder when he had work to do, so he went to find something else to occupy his time with. He ended up in the mess hall at the bar. Lots of colorful bottles with red, green, blue and yellow liquid were standing on the shelf. It seemed like a good place to spend some hours.

He found a bottle under the counter that had gathered some dust in the past months. Apparently Bortus was not a drinker. When Ed blew the dust away it made him cough. He opened the bottle, sniffed and decided to give it a shot, savoring the liquid. It had been a while he had something as nice as that.

That's when Kelly found him. Apparently she knew exactly where to look for him.

"Hey. Drink?"

"Always."

Ed busied himself with preparing another glass for her. He took his time, doing it slowly, methodically. Kept looking down at his task, not daring to glance up although he could feel Kelly's gaze on him. Surprisingly, his hands were not shaking. Nothing betrayed the turmoil inside him. There was so much he wanted to say but didn't know how to find the words or whether this even was the right place and time.

He regretted so much. He wondered if he should have tried harder seven years ago. If there had been anything he could have done to change Kelly's mind to give him another chance. But he had not wanted to come over as a stalker so he finally took the hint and left her alone. But knowing what he knew now, how much had been on stake, he blamed himself for not doing everything to prevent that.

Ed was the kind of guy who always blamed himself even if it wasn't his fault. He couldn't begin to imagine how Kelly must feel. He was amazed how well she held herself together.

Eventually he couldn't delay any longer. The glass was filled and he gave it to Kelly, they clinked glasses and drank. Ed made an appreciating sound. This stuff was _really_ good.

"Am I a terrible person that part of me wants this timeline to continue?"

Trust Kelly to cut right to the topic.

"You're asking the wrong guy."

"In the middle of this nightmare universe, I've felt this weird sense of comfort being with you."

It could be so simple. They still had the shuttle, they could just run away and leave the others to their task. Wait out on some lonely planet whether they succeeded or not.

Except they couldn't. Not as officers of the Union. When they had enlisted they had sworn an oath to protect every person in the Union, even on the cost of their own lives. And Ed planned to keep this promise, despite the world having gone to hell.

_Because_ the world had gone to hell. Still it was nice playing out this fantasy.

"Well, maybe we'll fail. Have to go find someplace to live in secret."

"Some nice little house on a deserted planet. We could have a couple kids – boy and a girl."

"We'd have to learn how to farm, how to cook."

"Look at the sunset every night."

"Look at you every morning."

Damn. He had meant that as a joke to lighten the situation but his voice betrayed all his feelings. He was surprised how broken it sounded.

Ed didn't know what to say after that but Kelly smiled and so he smiled too and then they finally kissed. It was an awkward angle over the counter but Ed didn't care. He wanted for the world to stop, time to freeze, just so he could enjoy Kelly's company for a few more moments.

He was right where he always had wanted to be.

Then John's voice interrupted them over the comm.

"Guys, I'm ready."

The End


End file.
